funkoma vintage*the recycled life

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

oh Oh Alabama

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson notifies Alabama's Governor George Wallace that he will use federal authority to call up the Alabama National Guard in order to supervise a planned civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.

Intimidation and discrimination had earlier prevented Selma's black population--over half the city--from registering and voting. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, a group of 600 demonstrators marched on the capital city of Montgomery to protest this disenfranchisement and the earlier killing of a black man, Jimmie Lee Jackson, by a state trooper. In brutal scenes that were later broadcast on television, state and local police attacked the marchers with billy clubs and tear gas. TV viewers far and wide were outraged by the images, ...................

After an Alabama federal judge ruled on March 18 that a third march could go ahead, President Johnson and his advisers worked quickly to find a way to ensure the safety of King and his demonstrators on their way from Selma to Montgomery. The most powerful obstacle in their way was Governor Wallace, an outspoken anti-integrationist who was reluctant to spend any state funds on protecting the demonstrators. Hours after promising Johnson--in telephone calls recorded by the White House--that he would call out the Alabama National Guard to maintain order, Wallace went on television and demanded that Johnson send in federal troops instead.
.............. 50,000 marchers followed King some 54 miles, under the watchful eyes of state and federal troops. Arriving safely in Montgomery on March 25, they watched King deliver his famous "How Long, Not Long" speech from the steps of the Capitol building. The clash between Johnson and Wallace--and Johnson's decisive action--was an important turning point in the civil rights movement. Within five months, Congress had passed the Voting Rights Act, which Johnson proudly signed into law on August 6, 1965.
photo from here
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And today, how ya doing Alabama?

Today, Here's your choice to lead the nation.....

Spreading Santorum

blog.spreadingsantorum.com/

The frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the by-product of anal sex.
Rick Santorum won Republican presidential primaries in Alabama and Mississippi ... propelling his candidacy..............

***************-----------*****ALABAMA*****----------***************
Neil Young had a few words for you........

photo of Neil from here

here's Neil's Alabama, recorded in 1973 at Winterland........listen for the gorgeous David Lindley violin....the lyrics are at the bottom.....

Oh Alabama

The devil fools
With the best laid plan.
Swing low Alabama
You got spare change
You got to feel strange
And now the moment
Is all that it meant.

Alabama, you got
The weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
Has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama
Banjos playing
Through the broken glass
Windows down in Alabama.
See the old folks
Tied in white ropes
Hear the banjo.
Don't it take you down home?

Alabama, you got
The weight on your shoulders
That's breaking your back.
Your Cadillac
Has got a wheel in the ditch
And a wheel on the track

Oh Alabama.
Can I see you
And shake your hand.
Make friends down in Alabama.
I'm from a new land
I come to you
And see all this ruin
What are you doing Alabama?
You got the rest of the union
To help you along
What's going wrong?
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/n/neil+young/alabama_20099012.html ]

and another song of the Southern Man by Neil Young. South, you got a lot of work to do...

Saturday, March 17, 2012

White Man Moccasins

One of my most fave pictures is this whimsical print by Lee Marmon. He has been taking pictures of New Mexico's Laguna Pueblo people, for nearly 60 years. Encouraged by his father, Henry, when Lee was a callow 22 year old veteran of WWII, he began to document the elders of his tribe, the daily life, and the moment in history when Indians were moving into modern life, and leaving behind the centuries of old ways of living. Indians are of course, still living in the old ways, but in the middle of the 20th century, they began to ...perhaps...feel more comfortable integrating modern things in their daily life.
For at least a hundred years, American Native people had been forced to assimilate, and we see in Marmon's long historical perspective, Indians making the choice for themselves to choose what they want, and to take what they like, and also, to insist America finally honor every treaty the Indians signed in good faith...only to see each one broken over the long occupation of their lands by us foreigners.

Taken in 1954, it's a photo of tribal elder Jeff Sousea, the elderly caretaker of the Laguna mission. As a kid, and today when the sun peeps out, you can find me lazying in the afternoon sun just like elder Jeff. He has his traditional headband and his hand made beaded and wrought jewelry and on his feet....a modern (though well-worn) pair of Converse shoes, or maybe a pair of Keds. That ankle circle patch...can be seen on both cons and keds.

more about Marmon

you can buy the postcard of Marmon's photo here

this picture of Lee is from here

Here's the latest Converse and moccasins in the funkomavintage shop.....
I only buy the Made In USA Cons....now that Nike owns them and they are made in China, they suck.

Moccasins...

Converse, and moccasins are my 2 favorite shoes to wear....when I'm not in cowboy boots, that is....

The Red Tiger Asic are for running, and the POLO by Ralphie, and the plaid by TUK are my exceptions...based on cuteness. I am paring down....from the 15 personal pairs...I used to have.

These moccasins are in rotation when it isn't raining...I'm making a pair of Navajo-style moccasins in black leather. It's fun! That pair of light brown leather, are (clears throat) about 35 years old.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Let's just pretend Spring will come...

the weather people are saying some snow showers....at the water's edge! But the calender says....Spring in a few days...the lilac is budding with tiny bright green leaves...the kale is growing...and I've mowed the lawn once this year...so, I do have The Faith in the turning of the planet.
Today...let's see a few new Spring things...and let's eat some asparagus, and good mushroom soup...

60s dots and white collar and cuffs...